Al Ain's historic scorer, Togolese international Laba Kodjo, celebrated his 34th birthday in the best possible way by leading 'The Leader' to a valuable 3-1 victory over Khorfakkan. This win helped Al Ain reclaim the top spot in the ADNOC Pro League. The match took place on Tuesday evening at Khorfakkan Stadium in front of about a thousand spectators, most of whom were fans of the 'Violets'. Laba Kodjo, who began his 34th year, scored Al Ain's first goal in the 47th minute with a brilliant move, breaking the deadlock in which the first half ended. His Moroccan teammate Sofian Rahimi then added a second goal from the penalty spot in the 64th minute. Khorfakkan managed to narrow the gap through Ahmed Nuralla in the 79th minute, but their attempts to equalize were dealt a strong blow due to being reduced to ten men after defender Ahmed Abu Namus was sent off in the 80th minute. Khorfakkan's misery was compounded when Al Ain scored a third goal through MatÃas Pellegrini in the 88th minute. With this victory, Al Ain boosted their tally to 34 points to temporarily top the standings, while Khorfakkan remained stuck on 16 points in eighth place. It is worth noting that Laba Kodjo's goal took his tally to 134 goals, placing him fifth on the all-time league top scorers list, after he ended a tie with Al-Shabab legend Adnan Al-Taliani.
